Campaign for Haitian Immigrant Equality/Update 11/2/97 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source: Merrill Smith Good news: Congress did not recess last Friday and the issue has not yet been settled so, if you didn't get a chance to make your views known to your reps, there's still time. Bad news: The atmosphere on the Hill seems remarkably hostile to equality for Haitians including an outrageous aside from Lamar Smith and an even more outrageous move to grant immigration benefits to persons from the former Soviet Union, still offering Haitians nothing! Below I reprint an update from a colleague who has been more intimately involved in the negotiations. Merrill Smith * Last Wednesday and Thursday, a delegation of Haitian activists and attorneys working on Haitian immigration issues traveled to Washington to gather support for legislation that would grant legal status to Haitians here in the U.S. Rep. Meek has called for the inclusion of Haitians in the deal Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart brokered with Rep. Lamar Smith that would give outright residence to Nicaraguans and an opportunity to apply for suspension of deportation to Salvadorans and Guatemalans. This deal was broker with the knowledge and support of the White House. The Haitian delegation is seeking to obtain residence for Haitians on par with that offered Nicaraguans. The Congressional Black Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus have provided overwhelming support for Haitian parity. The same cannot be said of Republican members of Congress, especially Rep. Lamar Smith who heads the immigration subcommittee. Lamar Smith began a meeting with the Haitian delegation last week by stating that Haitians had been treated better than any other group under U.S. immigration laws. Anyone who has represented Haitian asylum seekers knows the absurdity of this statement. By Friday members of the House and Senate had designed a new bill entitled "Victims of Communism Relief Act". This legislation includes the same provisions described above for Nicaraguans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans. It also adds a provision giving Cubans the same relief offered Nicaraguans and nationals of the former Soviet Union the same relief offered to Guatemalans and Salvadorans. The bill contains NO provision for Haitians. Congress will voting on this legislation early this week before they leave on recess. Everyone interested in justice for Haitians must act immediately. This will be the only opportunity to call for the inclusion of Haitians in this bill. The only meaningful relief available to Haitians is residence on par with that offered Nicaraguans and Cubans. The key persons to target, in addition to your own members of Congress, are Senators Graham, Mack, and Abrahams, Representatives Diaz-Balart, Gingrich, and Lamar Smith, and of course President Clinton. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-11.06.97-16:53:48-3891